Dehydrator?

bootz said:
Levi,

Mattpiloto made oven jerky from his first deer using worchester, soy, and peppers. Simple but man it was awesome. I will see if I can get him to post his full recipe. I use Hi Mountain Jerky spice and it is failsafe and yummy. Plus it is easy to mix flavors. I use 3/4 hickory with a 1/4 inferno. A friend mixes Mandarin Teriyaki Blend with Cracked Pepper N Garlic. Okay I am hungry now.


rollingrock,

If I were to heat in oven before dehydrating, how long would you heat meat in the oven?

Since it's already in there, would it be simpler to do the entire batch in the oven, rather than moving meat to the dehydrator.

It may be worthwhile to do both, to ensure that a guy doesn't actually cook the meat too long, rather than drying.

What are your thoughts?

Bootz
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Usually I heat the jerky after it's been dehydrated. 75 celsius degree for 20 minutes is really good enough to kill ecoli or something like that, and so far I have no problem with my jerky.

For marinading the meat what I do is almost the same as Mattpiloto except that I use the seasoning salt I bought from grocery stores like Save on Foods/Superstore etc. So a little soya sauce, seasoning salt, cooking wine and liquid smoke can just send the meat on the road towards jerky. So far everyone who has tried my jerky loves it.

But keep it in mind that one decent sized deer leg could only produce 4 or 5 pounds of jerky max, but I think that's the best way to make some space in your freezer though!:D
 
Great, thank you for the reply.

That sounds like a good plan, so good I will have to try it ;)
 
Question,

I made some jerky on the weekend. I used my dehydrator that reached temps of 140 degrees for 9 hours. book said between 6-12 hours needed. My pieces were strips 1/4" thick, 1/2" wide, and 3" long. I then put in the oven for another 1.25 hours at 170 degrees. Now most strips are done just to my liking, however, some slightly thicker pieces are red inside. They aren't raw, as they are very stringy (liked cooked meat), but I was wondering if this is more normal when making jerky from a dehydrator rather than an oven with hotter temps? Does dehydrated meat keep its color a bit more than oven made jerky?

I am just curious. Anyone have any insight?
 
Good to know. Thanks popcan. Any comments on my last post as you probably have a lot of experience making jerky?
 
Nesco gets my vote too, bought it last year at walmart for 40$. Jerky is started in morning when I leave for work and done whe I get home in late pm.
 
bootz said:
Good to know. Thanks popcan. Any comments on my last post as you probably have a lot of experience making jerky?
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I havent tried doing jerky in the oven, so I can't comment on that part... but with the NESCO I crank it up to max, and use 8 trays at a time, for 6 or even 7 hours, and it comes out still very slightly chewy, not like hard tack. I can't remember the exact temp, but I am sure it is hotter than 140 degrees. More like 155 degrees. I don't think jerky should appear uncooked.

I only make jerky when I am up at my cabin, and I believe that makes a difference in the cooking time as the air is really super dry up there.

My jerky is formed from one of the Cabela's Jerky Blasters.... it holds a pound and a half of ground meat at a time, and squeezes out two parallell strips at the same time. Very fast. The strips are about 1/8 " thick or perhaps a bit thicker.

I buy a side of buffalo every year, and so my jerky is Beefalo. (Buffalo is super lean, so it dries without creating a lot of greasy run off like plain hamburger does.)
We have tried different flavors, but our favorite is the teriyaki (my wife's fav), and the regular flavor with lots of finely chopped green onion mixed in (my favorite).
We use the flavoring and cure mix from London Drugs.

I have made jerky from meat strips as well, but I prefer jerky from ground.
 
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I use Hi mountain jerky spice and always comes out great. After much thought, I think i just needed another hour or two for the thiscker pieces. Thin pieces were awesome. I may upgrade dehydrators to one with a temperature setting. mine simply has an on switch, but still work good.

I actually liked putting the dehydrated jerky in the oven to finish it off, Worked great (Thanks Rollingrock)!

To next weekend and another batch...
 
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